


First born of Akatosh

by DearMrCrayola



Category: Elder scrolls V: Skrim
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 09:04:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8527177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DearMrCrayola/pseuds/DearMrCrayola
Summary: What happened when the World Eater cannot bring himself to kill the Dragonborn.





	1. Chapter 1

The crisp white snow whipped around in the piercing wind, the snowy tundra was motionless, frozen in time. A tale for the ages would be written in a few mere minutes as the legendary Dovahkiin stood on the peak of the Mohaven in all her glory. 

All the sleepless nights, lesson she learnt taught to her by the greybeards, the arguments she face with the remaining blades, all the training she had to endure that had lead to this moment would be over before it even started.  
She was to defeat Alduin the world eater, first born of Akatosh. He had returned, after the ancient Nords that faced him last time cast him off into the tides of space and time. They were able to do this by using the dovahzul to create new shouts, although this worked for them it was inevitable that he would return. The ancient Nords lacked the knowledge and understanding of the words they were using, so they were blind to see that they cast Alduin out of Mundas.

Risking a glance at the elder Dovah perched on the stone jutting from the mountain. Paarthurnax, the leader of the greybeards, brother to the world eater locked eyes with the Dovahkiin, there was a silent exchange of words as the white tattered dragon gave a slight nod, urging the Altmer to continue on the quest that had been presented before her. Standing at the time wound she pulled the elder scrolls from the confinement on her back, taking in a deep breath. She was not ready for this despite the training. Bringing the kel to her eye line she opened it.

A bright flash of white light enveloped her, the sky darkened and the three Nords that had cast Alduin out had appeared before her. Ireth stared intently at the three. Gormlaith, Hakon and Felldir stood slaying dragons around her. They spoke of the methods they used to kill the Dov and that hopefully Alduin would turn up and when he did they would be ready. Alduin appeared as a big black mass in the sky shrouded by storm clouds. Gormlaith, Hakon and Felldir all used the shout to ground Alduin. Waves of blue gripped on to him like chains and pulled him towards the mountain.  
Everything than became a blur for Ireth, sound disappeared as the scene before her grew hazy. Rocking on her heels slightly as the dragonrend shout seeped into her veins, power surged through her being, alighting every nerve ending, then just as quick as it started it was gone, leaving a warm fuzzy feeling inside her. The fogginess cleared from her vision and the sounded returned just as the three Nords cast Alduin out into the tides of space and time. Realisation hit Ireth as she pulled the scroll from her face. If the three of them couldn't defeat Alduin how would she fair on her own. 

A loud roar shattered the skies around them as Alduin appeared like he had in the scene she witnessed 30 seconds before. Ireth's mouth dried out, trying to swallow the lump caught in her throat. She was frightened there was no doubt about that, but that was to be expected as the fate of the world was hanging in the balance.  
"Hin sil fen nahkip bahloki Dovahkiin- Your soul will feed my hunger" rumbled Alduin.  
Ireth trembled as the words fell from his maw. Focusing her energy, her eyes widened, chest puffed as the three new words left her now salivating mouth.  
"JOOR ZAH FRUL" Ireth shouted directly at the first born. A burning sensation rose from her chest and spread like wildfire igniting every inch of her skin as the words left her lips. The shout hit Alduin square on his chest and like the scene earlier he was pulled down to the mountain as blue waves gripped onto him.  
The mountain shook violently as Alduin landed behind her. Ireth turned quickly on her heels drawing dragonbane, she started to sprint towards the now immobile Dovah. The only thing that was running through her frazzled brain was 'must be swift as a coursing river'  
"You may have picked up the weapons of my ancient foes, but you are not either equal"  
Alduin shouted as he watched the Altmer running at him full speed, sword raising up as if to strike.  
"With all the force of a great typhoon" she mumbled to herself, raising her sword. As quick as lightening she ducked down around him and struck his stomach. The sword cut into the soft flesh of his underside, another roar shattered the skies above as Alduin felt the jolt of shock course through him.

"With all the strength of a raging fire" she shouted swinging her sword again, only this time it just grazed his skin. Now able to mobilise again Alduin took off into the skies, looking around he spotted the Dovahkiin running for the safety of Paarthunax's word wall. She crouched down, covering her mouth and coughed, well that's what it looked like to the dragon 40 feet up.  
As he manoeuvred around to use his own shout at the Dragonborn, she countered it by using dragonrend again. Plummeting back to Tamriel again he landed with a thud so hard it shook the very mountain they were standing on.

Ireth charged again but this time at his face.  
'This joore must have a deathwish' Alduin's laughter rumbled through him as the Altmer drew ever closer to him. He did nothing as she approached rapidly, time to have a bit of fun. He opened his maw to unleash fiery hell upon her but stopped as he got a good look at her face. She was really pale, flushed cheeks, the scars on the side of her face were dark in comparison to the rest of her smooth skin. Her eyes sunk into her face, dark circles surrounded them, one eye was completely whited out while the other was a sickly looking yellow. He could see the fearful expression plastered on her face and the terror that flashed through the working eye. Upon further inspection he could see dried blood on her inner lilac lips, there was a little trail of blood stemming from the corner of her mouth to her chin. She was ill, deathly ill, he didn't know how she was standing let alone wearing the heavy armour, swinging a sword quite viciously and shouting. As much as it would be fun to end the Dragonborn here this was not a fair battle, for the both of them. Before this battle begun he had visions of a woman standing strong, able to take his blows, a worthy opponent, a worthy challenge but this, this was no fun at all. If he was to catch her in his maw, swipe her down with a razor sharp talon, unleash fiery hell upon her she would die and that would be the end of it. No he was not going to do that, Alduin had never second guessed himself in all of his immortal winters, but there was always a time to try something new. This could pan out either way, be a wise decision or the worst decision, but either way he was going to stick by it. He was going to let her live for now.

Ireth stopped her charge, watching in amazement as Alduin struggled against the bonds of Dragonrend, finally able to move himself he took off into the skies for a second time. Turning towards the befuddled Dovahkiin he looked down at her confused form.  
"This will not be a fair battle for either of us, I am giving you this chance once to walk away and return when you are ready and when you are, I shall vanquish you" Alduin spoke before flying off into the distant horizon. He was making his quick escape before he changed his mind. 

"W-what in the n-nine was that" Ireth stuttered, raising her hand to where the world eater had just been.  
"I have never witnessed such a thing like this before. No Dovah ever gives up on a battle so freely." Paarthurnax' voice reverberated off of the mountain. "Especially Alduin."  
Paarthurnax sighed deeply as he started to recall memories from so long ago. Ireth shivered as the cold weather was starting to take its toll on her, her heavy armour did nothing the shield her from the numbing wind. Covering her mouth with one hand she gripped her stomach, readying herself for the cough that was threatening to burst her lungs. She coughed hard, her muscles pulled taunt as the hardy cough raced out of her mouth. Pulling her hand away it was covered in blood, the colour of the daedra hearts, licking her lips there was that nasty metallic taste that accompanied blood. Shuddering as she swallowed the taste never left her mouth. This had been going on for quite a while now, as time passed it kept getting worse. Her legs were weak, giving out underneath her as another cough pulled at her muscles. Landing with a thud on her knees, she threw her arms out to brace herself, blood splattered onto the pristine white snow underneath her, soaking into it.

Paarthurnax was shaken out of his daze as he heard Ireth drop to the floor.  
"Dovahkiin" he roared. Climbing down from his perched position he slowly crept up beside her.  
"I'm fine, really, you do not need to concern yourself with my wellbeing" Ireth started leaning back on her heels, waving a hand at him.  
"How long has this been going on for" the great white Dovah questioned.  
"That is none of your concern you giant lizard" Ireth snapped, eyes ablaze with anger as another cough pulled at her stomach. The feeling of bile rose in her throat, her stomach heaved as the foul tasting bodily fluid hit her gag reflex. Aiming it away from the dragon she did herself of her stomach contents and blood. Her vision blurred, she gripped at her armoured skin, hunching over and swaying slightly.

"We need to get you off of here Dovahkiin" Paarthurnax stated shifting his weight he moved as close as he could without knocking her over.  
"Climb on, I'll take you back down to the greybeards" he urged. Not wanting to get into an argument with the fire breathing lizard, she pulled herself up with shaky legs.  
Gripping his wing as tightly as her arms would allow, she hauled herself up. She nestled herself comfortably on him. Once Paarthurnax was happy that she would be safe he took off carefully, not wanting to knock the poor elf off.  
He landed swiftly in the frozen courtyard of High Hrothgar, he moved over as close to the doors as he could manage. Ireth slid down his wing, placing her feet firmly on the ground, she pushed off of him. Turning to look at him, she gave him a weak smile, reaching out her hand she lightly rubbed his snout. "Thank you" she murmured softly.

Retracting her hand from his face he nodded slightly as he took off. Knocking on the heavy iron doors to High Hrothgar, they opened to reveal the old worn face of Arngeir. A snarl enveloped his lips as he looked at the Ill Altmer.  
"The world eater still lives" he spoke lowly, it sounded more like a growl and there was no mistaking the fire inside his eyes.


	2. New words.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ireth learns of what she must do.

Moving out of the way he let her into the building, his robes swished behind him as he walked. She entered closing the door behind her, it was still cold inside but not as freezing outside. Leading the way Arngeir took her into a side room, inside was a huge round stone table with a burning fire in the centre. Taking a seat at the head of the table he looked up towards Ireth.   
"What happened out there Dragonborn, Alduin is supposed to be vanquished and the world should be rejoicing" he growled.  
Ireth grabbed the back of one of the closest chairs barely maintaining her balance.  
"Half way through the battle Alduin stopped me, telling me he was going to give me this chance to walk away and return when I am well." She murmured, coughing again she gripped at her stomach, wiping the blood away from her mouth she looked at Arngeir.  
"So you let him go..?, And you didn't stop him" Arngeir roared slamming his fist on the table.  
"No I didn't stop him." Ireth growled. "Before I could raise my sword he was gone, I was utterly confused and in shock AND frightened beyond belief" the blood that had been sitting comfortably in the back of her throat, in her cheeks came soaring through the air and landed on the stone table, this time it was darker and started seeped into the stone.

Arngeir stared in a confused daze as the Dragonborn started to spew more blood.   
Resting her palms on the table she hunched over and coughed. It was so hard she could feel it ripping at her throat, pulling at her stomach, straining on her back. Arngeir rushed to her aid as she dropped to the ground. Kneeling down beside her the fire had left his eyes and was replaced with a thick layer of worry and concern.

"I have never seen such a thing Dragonborn, how long has this gone on for" Arngeir whispered, helping the poor Altmer up into a seated position. Bringing her knees to her chest she coughed again, 'the tighter the ball I sit it the more it will go away' she thought to herself. It eased the pain for a bit but not entirely.  
"About two to three weeks this has been going on for, the longer it goes on for the worse it gets" Ireth managed to gasp out between breaths.  
"I shall have Master Wulfgar and Master Borri take you to the chambers to lay down, and there you shall stay while we figure out what this blood buisness is" Anrgeir said, gripping her hands with his and pulling her up. He lead her to the doorway where the two other greybeards were waiting patiently for their orders. Ireth stumbled towards the two, they placed her arms around their shoulders, they took her back to one of the spare bed chambers.

Thanking them both they left as she started to strip off the heavy blades armour. Unbuckling the gauntlets, pulling the laces apart, she gripped at the fingers and pulled them off, placing them down onto the wooden table in the corner of the room. She then set to work on the pauldron's and chest piece, using the same technique for the gauntlets she laid them on the table. Once finally free of the armour after taking off the greaves and boots, she was left in her cloth shirt and trousers. 

The brazier's in the room were alight with fire salts, the orange flames danced with the slight chill in the air, like a deadly tango. The stone room was warm but not enough that it was comfortable. Soft feet padded over to the cold unfeeling stone bed in the corner of the room, peeling back the sabre cat furs she wiggled herself into the bed, laying her aching body onto the soft furs she placed the bear furs over her body, drifting off into a fitful sleep.

Arngeir and the best of the greybeards all gathered together by the large bookcases scouring books on the Dragonborn legacy and legends. Reaching a hand up Arngeir pulled at a book that looked like it would spread the most light on the current situation. The others did the same and took their places at the large stone conference table, that only a few minutes ago the Dragonborn had stood spluttering her blood all over the place. Opening the leather clad dingy book, Arngeir flipped through the pages, skimming the lines to find any information. He found a section on dragon souls and what happens when they are absorbed. According to this book over a period of time the dragon souls that have been absorbed become restless, although the dragon dies the soul still lives in the confinements of its captor. Apparently the Dragonborn must either find a way to make peace with the souls or root out the reason for their restlessness, in this case killing the World Eater. Looking towards master's Borri, Wulfgar and Einarth he gained their attention and read the passage. The three looked between themselves with scowling faces, confused.  
"The Dragonborn must kill the World Eater in order to stop the destruction inside her body" Arngeir explained. "Or make peace with the souls that she has absorbed."  
The other three nodded once in agreement, and left Arngeir to relay the news back to the now sound asleep woman. Sighing heavily Arngeir rose from his chair, this was not something he wanted to tell the Dragonborn.   
But it must be done, if she sees any sense she will get right back out there and slay Alduin, if not for Tamriel then for herself.

Ireth lay comfortably on the stone bed, wrapped in the warm furs. Her body twitched as her unconscious mind reeled.  
She was standing on top of the mountain again,but this time surrounded by the Dov.   
They were all engaged in idle conversation as she precariously approached. They turned towards her as she stood her ground. 

"Mu lost saraan hin bo Dovahkiin- we have been awaiting your arrival " spoke one dragon as he locked eyes with the Altmer.  
"Hi lost bo wah paar fin sik wah Alduin tum- You have come to seek the words to take Alduin down" spoke another.  
"Yes I have" Ireth nodded.  
"Haalvut un mindoraan do daar sik ol nust hin sil voth kun- feel our understanding of these words as they fill your soul with light"  
The first dovah spoke.

Ireth felt like she was burning up. Light engulfed her entire being, pulling her up from her steadfast position, from the tips of her toes the burning sensation rose, up through her calfs rising higher and higher. The light disappeared and the burning sensation left, dropping her back onto the floor. The new words raced around her mind.  
Looking up to the dov she nodded slightly.  
"Kod daar rot onik- use these words wisely"   
The second Dovah spoke. All went black.

Ireth's body jolted violently, her eyes sprung open, sitting bolt upright she rubbed her eyes. What in the world was that about. Looking at the door she spotted Arngeir lurking in the shadows, stepping foward some of the brazier light illuminated the greybeard slightly, giving him a menacing presence. Staring straight into her soul he spoke lowly.   
"You have to make peace with the souls you have taken."  
"What" she questioned raising her eyebrow.   
"The souls of the slain dragons you have taken, you must make peace with them" Arngeir raised his voice slightly.   
"I think I might have just done that" she scratched the back of her head.  
"I must have been dreaming, I was standing on top of the mountain, surrounded by Dovah. The passed on three new words for me to use, giving me their understanding" Ireth huffed looking confused.  
"Then you shall use them to defeat the World Eater, maybe then it will bring peace to souls" he reasoned.   
"And if it does not then I shall start back at the beginning" She laughed lightly.   
"Get some more rest Dragonborn, I shall see you when you awake again" Arngeir said, turning on his heels and leaving the room.  
Laying herself back down she rolled onto her side, heavy eyelids closing, mumbling nothing in particular to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are enjoying this (: Comments and reviews welcome.

**Author's Note:**

> I though it would be nice to write a story about a human Alduin after his decision to let the Dragonborn live.


End file.
